Yo-kai Watch: Forever Friends

Summary

Yo-Kai Watch: Forever Friends[a] is a 2018 supernatural anime film produced by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Toho. It is the fifth film in the Yo-kai Watch film series, following the 2017 film Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu, and is the second film set in the 1960s before the series' storyline, featuring a boy named Shin who adventures into the Yo-kai World with his Yo-kai friend Nekomata. It was directed by Shigeru Takahashi, and was released on Japanese theaters on December 14, 2018 alongside the first Dragon Ball Super movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and the Japanese dub of The Grinch.

Yo-kai Watch: Forever Friends
Japanese name
Kanji映画 妖怪ウォッチ FOREVER FRIENDS
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnEiga Yōkai Wotchi Fooebaa Furenzu
Directed byShigeru Takahashi
Based onYo-kai Watch
by Level-5
Music byKenichiro Saigo
Production
company
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • December 14, 2018 (2018-12-14)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥1,210,224,700[1]

Plot edit

"Sakura Motomachi, Tokyo in the 1960s. Shin, a boy who lived happily, despite being poor, loses his mother, his only family member, and falls into deep misfortune. Itsuki, a boy who saves Shin, also lost his older sister. Those two boys are joined by Tae, a girl who can see Yo-kai, and together with Shin's guardian spirit Sū-san, and new Yo-kai such as Nekomata, they take on a mysterious incident in order to retrieve the souls of their precious family! And what is the shocking truth that awaits them...!? This is a story about the friendship formed between three children and Yo-kai―"

The film also tells the origin of how Lord Enma became the ruler of the Yo-kai.

Characters edit

  • Atsumi Tanezaki as 下町シン (Shimomachi Shin), a wielder of the Yo-kai Watch Elder Zero. Despite his poverty, he lived happily until his mother died, after which he fell into great despair. He then met his fellow Yo-kai friends and was joined by two children named Itsuki and Tae, with the three planning to return the souls of the citizens of Japan from the soul-devouring fox Yo-kai Tamamo no Mae.
  • Etsuko Kozakura as 猫又 (Nekomata), a classic black cat Yo-kai who meets and befriends Shin, who lost his mother, later adventuring alongside him and a group of children in the Yo-kai World. He has both a Shadowside form and a Godside form, the latter being known as 猫王バステト (Nekoō Basuteto).
  • Ryōhei Kimura as 高城イツキ (Takashiro Itsuki), a boy who saved Shin and is a wielder of the Yo-kai Watch Elder God. Like Shin, his older sister is gone because her soul was devoured by Tamamo no Mae.
  • Nao Tōyama as 有星タエ (Arihoshi Tae), a female sorcerer from the Arihoshi Clan who is likely related to Akinori from the fourth film. She is one of the Three Children who adventures in the Yo-kai World during the events of the film.
  • Shun Oguri as Shien (紫炎, Shien). He's one of the candidates for the Yo-kai World's next ruler and is the main antagonist of the movie, teaming up with Tamamo to devour souls and gain power.
  • Chiemi Blouson as Tamamo (タマモ, Tamamo), a humanoid fox Yo-kai who devours the souls of the citizens of Japan and works alongside Shien. She's also known as Tamamo no Mae (玉藻前, Tanamo no Mae) in her Shadowside form.
  • Ryōhei Kimura as Lord Enma (エンマ大王, Enma Daiō), one of the candidates for the Yo-kai World's next ruler and the son of Ancient Enma. As initially teased in Corocoro, Enma has three new forms that were introduced in the movie: Yasha Enma, Yasha Enma Rasetsu, & Yasha Enma Benibana.
  • Takehito Koyasu as ぬらりひょん (Nurarihyon), a servant and apprentice of Ancient Enma and later to Lord Enma.
  • Shintaro Asanuma as ざしきわらし (Zashiki-Warashi), a guardian spirit focused on pursuing his beauty. Like Nekomata, he has a Godside form, which is based on a Tengu.

Release edit

The film released on December 14, 2018 and opened at #4 at the Japanese box office. Early pre-orders of the movie tickets allowed viewers to obtain a Yo-kai Ark of Nekomata's Lightside form, which can be scanned through the Nintendo Switch to obtain Nekomata in Yo-kai Watch 4.

References edit

  1. ^ "Box Office Gross, TV Anime Adaptations". Someanithing (Anime DVD/BD Sales in Japan). Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  1. ^ Yo-kai Watch: Forever Friends (映画 妖怪ウォッチ FOREVER FRIENDS, Eiga Yōkai Wotchi Fooebaa Furenzu, lit. Yo-kai Watch the Movie: Forever Friends)

External links edit

  • Official website (in Japanese)